Our Differences, Your Plague
by TheSkywalker
Summary: Being unigue doesn't always mean you're special. Sometimes you find that your differences earn you fear and hate from others. Understanding this is one thing. Dealing with it is another... Oc based. T for strong language, themes, and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Well looky here. A story from 'ol me. Well, most of you probably don't know me. Oh well. Yes, this is a Mario-verse story, but it is Oc based. Don't be afraid to have a read though. Well, unless you're not a fan of strong language and such. Anyway, enjoy.**

**Ayden: Tch. Enjoy she says. Yeah, enjoy learning about how my life sucks.**

**Me: Hush you! You're life doesn't COMPLETELY suck.**

**Chapter 1: Wondering Mind**

A light breeze toyed with the air as the last light of day was being drained from the sky, the sun taking it's leave beyond the horizon's edge. Dark clouds were beginning to gather overhead, creating a dreary feel to the atmosphere as it cast the darkening town into deeper shadows.

A light snow had begun to flitter down from the ominous clouds and had a thin layer of the white specks covering the ground in moments. The once light breeze heightened to a chill wind and frightened anyone who had thought of taking an evening walk back into their homes.

A few young toad children were sprinting down the side of the road. Their laughter cut through the silently howling wind and filled the quieting town, breaking the silence some sought to find.

The children were probably on their way home. The day had been sunny and peaceful, a bit chill but nothing you shouldn't expect from the winter seasons. Their small feet kicked up snow, leaving footprints as they hurried along. They seemed in complete bliss and completely unaware of the red eyes watching them from a top a nearby awning.

The green clad boy knew the children's tracks would be covered soon. The snow was beginning to flit down in larger quantities and harder then it had when it had first started raining down. He would know. He'd been lying there for some time.

There was a thin layer of snow covering him but he hardly seemed to care. Cold wasn't something that he worried about anymore. Not that he ever had, really. And it wasn't due to the fact he almost appeared dressed for the cold weather. A forest green, baggy hoodie covered his upper-body and followed up by dark blue jeans and a pair of dark gray fingerless gloves on his hands.

From his position, he looked almost unconscious. Some might even take him for it if not for the fact that his eyes followed every movement they perceived. His normal sized, yet pointed at the tip, ears picked up sounds a normal being wouldn't. He could hear the crying cracks of the ice breaking over a river some ways away. He could hear machinery grinding and groaning off in a factory hidden somewhere in one of the surrounding forests. These were the noises he was trying to focus on. He hated his current location. This town. It was NOT a place he could stand to be in anymore. Too many memories. Painful memories...

The eighteen year old grumbled something to himself. His voice held an Italian accent which grew more noticeable when he was angered.

Fidgeting, a few flakes of snow fluttered down onto his nose. He snorted, his nose wrinkling up at the tickle feel of the flakes on his face and he shook his head, causing even more of the snow to come tumbling down from his short-cut, yet shaggy and unkempt, brown hair. Not that he cared much about how his hair looked. Long as it was clean he was fine. He had a hat to cover his head but was currently using it to cushion his chin that was resting on the bar of the awning. The hat was dark green, much like his jacket's color, and was nothing more than a baseball cap.

He scowled, hearing an over-animated laugh sound from nearby and turned his head every so slightly. There were two toads, male and female. For toads, they probably weren't too much older than the red-eyed boy. Their height's didn't exactly give that away...

From their current stance, one might think the male toad was assaulting the girl or something. However, judging by the shy smile on the girls face and the sly look the boy possessed, the awning dweller groaned quietly in disgust before turning his head away, not wanting to watch the scene that was bound to unfold.

"You keep scowling at everything and your face is going to stick that way, Ayden" a teasing voice spoke from behind. The one named Ayden proceeded to roll his eyes, glancing back for a quick second before turning his attention away again.

An apparition of a similar looking boy was seated on the other side of the awning, one of his legs dangling over the side and swaying back and forth but not with the wind. It wasn't currently possible for the wind to touch him. Even his short-cut hair, the color matching the other boys but held a neater appearance, wasn't affected by the chill breeze.

A ghost? Yes. One garbed in a red shirt and had a dark gray jacket slung around his shoulders loosely with complimentary black pants to match. Although they didn't much suit his pale complexion.

His current expression looked almost amused. Although it was hard to tell. He held a small smile but his eyes were the throw off. That is, if they could be called eyes anymore. They looked more like two holes in his face with completely red, pupil-less irises that looked more like the brake lights of a car in a dark tunnel.  
Turning his gaze to Ayden, the ghost, known as Chase, released a breath. It wasn't uncommon to see his brother in such a state. Yes, brothers. Twins to be exact. The older being the deceased. But these two were far from normal beings. Their origin? A cloning machine built by a girl known for her insane actions. She even went by the ridiculous name of Fuzzle.

However, being clones wasn't the main reason for the two boy's differences. Their humanity was cut short when their creator had decided to genetically alter them. Which, in all reality, defaces the purpose of a cloning machine but Fuzzle would never admit to that. As for their defaults, both boys still held the general looks of the original people they were cloned from, but the demonic, yes, demonic, genetics their creator had fused to them had altered them in ways even she hadn't quite expected.

Their faces, for starters. They were expected to have slightly larger noses than your average being but instead they came out normal sized. Then their eyes, they had two sets of colors that they could change willingly. One set being the haunting red while the others were bright blue. This erratic disfunction was brought upon by the demonic genes their creator had inserted into their DNA. Then their ears. They had sprouted pointed tips but weren't overly long like elf ears.

Then came the rest of their bodies. It didn't seem their skin tanned well. No matter how long either boy was in the sun they could never get much darker than a pale peachy color. Then it appeared as though they were growing taller than the ones they were cloned from. Already Ayden was reaching a height of around six feet, eight inches tall while Chase was only around six foot, two inches. Fuzzle had assumed it was due to a mutated gene.

All the same, both had a defined appearance. Ayden had a taller, sleek look to him with a slightly longer face than his brother. He was almost scrawny. But that could mainly be due to the fact that he wore shirts that were a bit too big for his body. But even with his almost "helpless" look, the boy had strength to back up anything he did. His physic contradicted his abilities. He was agile, and often considered the strongest among his "kind" with inhuman senses to match.  
For Chase, the boy had a bit more fill to him but wasn't near as tall and had a rounder face. He also carried the trait of inhuman senses like his brother, but he didn't have near as much strength. However, he was dangerous enough. Or at least he use to be. It was difficult for him to do much anymore other than frighten the occasional toad.

But these weren't their only qualities. They had other demonic faults about them, some more deadly than others.

"Are you just going to lie there all night...?" Chase asked, his tone portraying a more annoyed sense but held concern for his brother's well being. But when the younger boy didn't respond, the ghost narrowed his eyes. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me" he growled, his voice literally coming out with a feral sound you often could hear a dog give. Again, Ayden appeared to be ignoring him. "If I could kick you right now I would" Chase threatened but the younger boy continued to remain quiet, his only movement being his steady breathing.

"Say something!" the older boy hissed, his voice louder than necessary. If not for the fact that no one aside from Ayden and Fuzzle could hear the ghost he probably would of attracted the attention of the toad couple still "conversing" nearby.

"... Something..." Ayden muttered, growing somewhat annoyed with his brother's demands and decided to make a smart-ass comment. "... Not exactly what I meant..." Chase muttered, crossing his arms, "can we go now? I'm tired of watching you get covered in snow."

"I never asked you to stay Chase..." Ayden argued but refused to raise his voice. "Yes. But I'm not about to let you get buried alive in snow, let alone freeze to death" the older brother argued. "You know that's unlikely to happen. Besides, I'm well enough. You don't have to make sure I'm safe" Ayden shot back. "I'm the older brother. It's my job" Chase teased before his expression turned serious, "now get your butt up before I make you."

A growl passed through Ayden's lip as they pulled back over his teeth which elongated into pointed fangs for a moment before shrinking back to normal size. It was useless really. Although his brother couldn't physically harm him, the ghost did have a knack for temporarily taking over a person's body.

Slowly, the younger boy pushed himself to his knees, the snow on his back sliding off. He gave his head another shake, the white specks fluttering from his hair. He released his breath, the foggy vapor, due to his warm breath, clouding in front of his mouth.

Snatching up his cap, he placed it back on his head, turning it so the back of the cap was resting on the front of his head. "Happy?" he asked, standing. "I suppose..." Chase replied, having already stood.

Ayden scoffed and took a few steps along the awning. A smirk looked as though it was trying to pull onto his mouth. Chase cocked an eyebrow, watching his brother's actions before lifting his head slightly as the younger boy leapt off the awning.

Landing with a louder 'thud' than necessary, the two toads pulled away from each other, the girl letting out a startled shriek. Ayden repressed a snicker as they both turned their attention to him, their eyes widening in fright.

"You know. /No one/ wants to see that. Or HEAR it for that matter" he informed, snorting in disgust before stalking off down the street, barely noticing his brother who was following just behind.

Chase shook his head as Ayden slumped back into a depressing stance. "Are you going to stop sulking anytime soon?" he asked. His eyes perked up as Ayden whipped his head around, his red eyes appearing to have a glowing red rim around them, and gave his brother a cold glare.

"I am NOT sulking" he spat and turned back around and pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head, being careful not to knock his cap off.

"... That's what you say every time..." Chase muttered to himself, keeping his voice low enough and prayed his brother wasn't listening. However, luck wasn't quite on his side as he heard his brother snarl at his words but didn't do much else other than shove his hands into his hoodie pocket.

"But seriously, Ayden. It's only recently that you've started acting up this bad again. You're either scowling at everything or else 'playing dead' by living in your own thoughts" Chase persisted, crossing his arms as he hovered up beside his brother. "It's none of your business..." Ayden muttered in reply as he stared at the ground and managed to keep a blank expression. "Apparently nothing on your mind is my business anymore" the older boy muttered.

It use to be they both would share their thoughts with one another. They could only confide in each other as Fuzzle was far from reliable.

"Exactly. So why don't you stop asking?" Ayden suggested, his tone annoyed. "I would if you wouldn't sulk every day" Chase stated and received another glare. "For the last time. I don't sulk! I just... Don't talk when I'm thinking about something..." Ayden argued, tilting his face away, showing he wasn't interested in continuing the conversation.

Chase sighed and looked up at a building. _Annoying mushroom shaped buildings..._ he thought to himself, shaking his head _you think they would have come up with a better design regardless of who lives in them._ Not all the buildings were shaped as he said but he still didn't like them all the same. He didn't much like the town in general.

"... Besides. I know you know what I think about..." Ayden suddenly muttered and Chase looked back at him, "you're just waiting for me to tell you myself and that's why you always ask and never say anything regarding it." The older brother clenched his teeth. He couldn't lie. He did know, but due to the fact his brother was extremely obsessive about keeping things private, he never spoke of it. Not to mention Ayden always went into silent lapses whenever the thought was brought up by others. Well, either that or he'd start shouting. Sometimes in other languages.

"Sorry, bro..." Chase muttered, looking down. "It's fine," Ayden muttered, "I just wish you'd stop asking." "I'm not exactly prone to sitting in silence for excessive amounts of time unlike someone I know" the older brother stated and Ayden rolled his eyes. "You should try it some time..." he stated, causing Chase to grin as he shook his head.

"Boring... Boring... Boring... ... Even more boring... Guh!"

The annoyed girl dropped her head back against the couch back, her short brown hair fanning on as she did so.

"I'm stuck staying at this hotel... There's nothing on TV... And the boys aren't here to talk to. ... Lovely..." she groaned.

Even with heavy eyes the girl refused to go to bed. She was garbed in her pajamas, consisting of a white tee shirt and blue pajama pant bottoms that had black musical notes printed into them.

Releasing her breath, she slouched down in her seat before flipping through the channels again. With her free hand, she was fiddling with the golden star that was attached to the silver chain around her neck.

"Why is there never anything on Saturdays?" she questioned, narrowing her dark green eyes as she lifted a hand to brush a bang out of her face as it tickled her cheek.

"Because TV sucks and rots your brain..." a voice replied, causing the girl to jump as she let out a yelp, fumbling with the remote in her hands.

Laughter erupted and the girl glared as she overcome her initial shock. "Chase! That wasn't funny!" she hissed and the spirit took form beside her on the couch. He was leaning back, his arms crossed behind his head and his lips were pulled into an amused smirk.

"Freaking you out is always funny, Fuzzle" he argued. "Right..." the girl muttered, rolling her eyes, "and gone back to calling me Fuzzle, I see?" "Eh, I just can't get use to calling you by your real name. Been calling you Fuzzle for far too long" Chase replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, anyway, where's your brother at?" she asked, looking back to the TV as she began to flip through the channels again. "Eh, right when we got back to the hotel he wondered off somewhere when I had my back turned" Chase replied, letting out a sigh. He hated it when Ayden did such. After all, he'd done similar the same day Chase had been killed...  
"Sulking again, is he?" Fuzzle asked, grinning a teasing smile as she realized she'd broken the ghost's thoughts when he jerked his head up a bit. "It's not sulking, remember?" Chase replied in a mocking voice, causing her to laugh.

"... Aren't you suppose to be working on a way to fix his sleeping problem?" he suddenly asked, cocking an eyebrow and received a glare from the girl. "Excuse me for needing a break," she hissed, "I have a major headache and you know what could happen if I try working when I have a headache."

Chase snorted, rolling his eyes, "There's a little thing called 'pain killer', Fuzzle." "I know that!" she hissed, "I took two pills ten minutes ago. I'm waiting for them to work. ... But I'm still on my break after it goes away." " ... I really hope you don't procrastinate like this when it comes to school work..." Chase muttered. "Don't drag school into this conversation..." Fuzzle muttered before smiling as she stopped on a channel, "finally. A good movie."

"Bah! I hate this movie" Chase growled and Fuzzle slowly turned her head, casting him an annoyed look and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you were the one that said TV rots your brain...?" Fuzzle questioned, grinning at him. "Yes... But even I get bored..." the ghost replied, rolling his eyes. "Right..." she muttered skeptically, "well then you'll just have to deal with this movie because not only am I not changing it, there's nothing else on."

Chase let out a groan, obviously annoyed. "If you hate it so much why don't you go find your brother. By the way, have you figured out why he's been sulking lately?" she asked, acting oblivious about the whole thing. Chase knew she knew... She was just and... Off sort of character.

"No..." Chase replied, lying as he always did. "Right..." Fuzzle muttered, cocking an eyebrow at him, "then why not go bug him more?" "I think I've done enough of that tonight," Chase replied, "besides. I figured you'd of gotten bored by now." "How could I be bored when I have television to complain about?" she asked, motioning towards the picture box, "besides. If people see me talking to nothing they might think I'm weird."

Chase gave her an odd look. "And creating demonic clones isn't weird?" he asked. "Nope. Not at all..." she replied, smiling a wide, teasing smile and Chase sighed, shaking his head.

"Hey, look at it this way," she added, "if I wasn't 'weird' then you might not be alive."

Chase narrowed his eyes at her while she slowly turned her head away and muttered, "That... came out wrong..." "Tch! You think...?" Chase stated, slouching in his seat, annoyed, and crossed his arms. "Gees... You and Ayden hold grudges better than I do sometimes..." Fuzzle muttered and Chase rolled his eyes. "You roll your eyes too much too..." she stated, noticing his actions. "And you talk too much but you don't hear me complaining..." the spirit shot back, his mouth pulling into a tight line.

Fuzzle sighed, "Why do I even bother? Talking to either of you is like talking to a mule. Stubborn." Chase narrowed his eyes at her before averting them back to towards the TV.

He hadn't wanted desert his brother as he did, but he'd wanted to be alone. With a sigh, Ayden rested his elbows on his knees as he stared out at the town. He had a pretty wide range of view from his perch, sitting on the roof of one of the tallest buildings. Even in the dark night he could pick out tiny details to focus on, the red glowing rim around his eyes somehow allowing him to see in the dark atmosphere better than a normal being.

_Of all places she could have picked... Why'd it have to be here? _He wondered, looking down at the street below.

About a week ago, Ayden finally found it suiting to complain to his creator about his whole sleeping problem. His sleeping problem being that he couldn't sleep normally. He couldn't just lie down when he felt tired and close off his mind to the world. Not only that, but due to the fact he no longer lived with his nut-case of a creator, and the fact that she refused to go any farther than the town they were currently in, he had to travel from his own home to meet up with the girl.

It would be though, that it would end up being /this/ town she refused to go farther than. He dreaded it so. It's why he'd moved away those few years ago. Moved to a place at the border between the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland. It had been as far as he'd been willing to go without being too close to the town. He supposed he could of gone farther if he'd headed more towards Dark Land... But Dark Land held Bowser's home and he wasn't about to get any close to the slim-bucket of a koopa any more than he had to.

_If she doesn't find a solution in another week... I'm out of here..._ he thought to himself. A week. A week could hold many surprises he knew, but if there was the chance she could fix his sleeping problem, he'd be willing enough to stick it out.

He sighed. At least his brother was there as well. Chase often followed him around, for reasons really unknown to Ayden himself. Chase had explained the whole, 'escaping from Hell' thing to him. He had said it wasn't exactly the best of places to be. He also said due to the fact he'd escaped, Chase was hunted down, on occasions, by other spirits and demons. He always found a way to allude them though, always returning to his brother. Ayden had once asked him why he bothered hanging around him. The only reply he ever got was that Chase felt the need to look after him. Of course, whenever he got that answer, Ayden would bring up Chase's whole death and claim it as his fault. Chase knew it wasn't true and would always tell him otherwise. But, being the stubborn clone he is, Ayden would always get into some argument about it, said argument either ending in Chase claiming he needs to go check on something relating to the demons following him or Ayden storming off. It wasn't a too often discussed topic but it was never a good sign when it was brought up.

Ayden released his breath, sitting up straight and leaned back, using his forearms for support as he stared up at the sky. It had stopped snowing now, not much of a storm, and the clouds were clearing. The moon was out, a full one at that. Stars were shining as well as not too many bright lights radiated from the town.

When it came to the time of day, Ayden much preferred the night. Cooler, calmer, and less people to shout at him randomly. Walking around during the daylight hours without trying to conceal his identity from the people around him wasn't something he could do anymore.

A sudden sound caught from the street below caught Ayden's ears. He rolled his eyes, recognized the sound as laughter. Not bothering to see what was up, he assumed it was either some kids running around in the snow or a teen couple heading to who knows where to do who knows what. Who knows, maybe it was the same two toads he'd "disturbed" earlier. He frowned at the thought before releasing his breath, watching the cloudy vapor rise into the air.

Getting to his feet, he arched his arms over his head, pushing himself onto the tips of his feet as he stretched.

"Might as well go see if the idiot has come up with anything yet..." he muttered to himself before stepping closer to the roof edge.

Clenching is teeth and letting out light groan from pain, two large, demonic-like wings sprouted out of the unnoticeable slits in the back of his shirts. The black membrane unfolded from his skin and the wings stretched out to his sides.

He sighed as the pain died down and ignored it as he felt a bit of blood run down his back from where the wings connected to the body.

He looked to his right wing. It had almost fully healed after being damaged not long ago. There were still a few larger tears in the membrane of the wing but none that would cause any flight problems.

Looking foreword again, Ayden dove off the side of the building and after a short drop, spread the wings, letting air catch under them and rode an updraft up and over the next building.

Gently beating the wings, he gained more altitude and hovered in the air for a moment, taking a look over as much of the town as he could. For once, there didn't appear to be some kind of commotion somewhere. Normally there'd be some kind of party going on at one of the few bars... Or at least at the ones he hadn't burned down. The only reason he'd ever done so was due to the fact he couldn't stand the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

He scowled at the thought, remembering how the scent of the rancid materials had irritated his sinuses and had even caused a few nose bleeds in his lifetime. Shaking his head, he headed off, staying high above the roof tops and didn't seem to care if anyone saw him or not.

After passing over a still busy restaurant, Ayden's eyes perked up for a moment as he felt his right wing falter. "Damn..." he muttered at a bit of pain but quickly tried to ignore it. "Maybe that's another thing I should get her to fix..." he stated, looking down at the buildings as he passed over head, "oh well. Now... where's that hotel?"

"What kind of place doesn't have-? Urg!" the girl complained, drumming her fingers angrily against the counter she stood in front of. "Sorry miss, but we just don't serve-" the toad working the counter started to explain. "Yeah, yeah. Heard it all before..." she muttered, before turning to leave. "Uh... Come again...?" the toad called, a bit confused. "Not on you life..." she muttered, pushing the door open with an annoyed expression on her face.

Fuzzle narrowed her eyes as the gleam from the sun overhead reflected off the snow. "First I don't get what I wanted to drink... Now this?" she hissed, letting out a groan. Although she supposed she couldn't expect much else. It wasn't uncommon for the sun to be shining on a cloudless day, even in the winter months.

"Complaining again...?" Chase asked from nearby, looking back at her. "I'll complain if I want too..." Fuzzle muttered before heading off down the street to seek out another way to get what she wanted. Chase rolled his eyes and followed.

"So, where'd Ayden wonder off to this time?" she asked once he'd caught up. "Like I'd know... I hadn't realized he even liked going anywhere during the day..." Chase replied, looking at a nearby building. "Eh, I'm sure it was early when he left... As long as it's early in the morning or night time he'll be out..." she stated, cracking her neck, "I'll never understand why he has such a need to be alone though. You'd think after... Everything... He'd want someone to be around to talk to..." "Ah, it's just how he is. A recluse..." the ghost stated, grinning. "That's certainly not how he acted when he was younger..." Fuzzle stated, cocking an eyebrow at the clone. "I find it obvious why that is..." Chase stated, rolling his eyes. "True..." she said, frowning at the thought.

"Ah, well. Maybe we should-" Fuzzle started to suggest but her eye quickly averted down a nearby street, "look! A street fair!" Before Chase could even comment, the girl had taken off running. The clone stared after her for a moment, looking dumbfounded.

"No matter how hard I try, I'll never understand that one..." he muttered, letting out a sigh as he shook his head. "Not to mention her attention span seems worse than a squirrels..." he complained, slowly following after his creator.

Once he'd finally caught up, Fuzzle had stopped and was looking around. Apparently she seeking out something. As for what, he didn't know.

"What are you looking for now?" he asked, not caring that if she said anything to him people might look at her funny. "I'm looking for... there!" she said quite loudly before taking off again.

The clone watched her go but once he caught sight of exactly what "it" was, he groaned a slapped a palm to his forehead and waiting like that until she returned.

"You have /got/ to be kidding me...?" he muttered as the girl walked back up to him carrying a bowl of Dippin' Dots. "Nope..." Fuzzle muttered through a mouthful of the ice cream, smiling. "Really? Ice cream in the winter?" he asked and she only grinned stupidly at him. To her, it didn't seem like much of an issue that she was downing frozen treats in the middle of a cold winters day.

"Why can't you do anything productive? Like, actually working on the solution to my brother's sleeping problem...?" Chase suggested, crossing his arms. "I'm on break..." she replied before heading off to explore the rest of the street fair.

"Seems you're always on break lately..." Chase muttered before following after her, annoyed. Actually walking for once, the spirit took his time as he glanced around.

He hadn't expected to see a street fair during their stay at the town, especially during winter. Even though he knew there were occasionally winter events, they were normally held inside the recreation center near the center of town. But an outside fair? Seriously? Maybe the toads had finally lost it... But there were plenty of booths and stands around to entertain people. Maybe this was their way of collecting more coins during the colder seasons. Fuzzle proved that. She was bound to spend her "free time" at the fair often now that she knew it was there.

"What the heck are you doing at a place like this?" someone asked and Chase jumped, whipping around. His brother was standing behind him, hood pulled over his head but his eyes glowed from under the hood.

"Fuzzle..." the spirit replied and Ayden rolled his eyes. "Where is the idiot anyway?" he asked.

Right on cue, the hyper girl ran up, no longer carrying a bowl of ice cream but rather a stuffed animal of sorts. Chase's brow creased in frustration, wanting to know how in God's name she got around so fast.

"Hey Sulky McSulkerson! Look what I won!" Fuzzle exclaimed proudly, holding the stuffed animal up to Ayden and he pulled back a bit, glaring at her.

"Don't call me that..." he muttered, gently pushing the stuffed object from his face. Fuzzle didn't seem to mind his grumpy behavior. She was far too busy looking for another game she could win at.

"Heh, never expected you to show up here" she stated, looking over at Ayden for a second before returning to her search. "Wasn't going to 'till I saw Chase down here," the younger clone replied, "but now that I know you're here, shouldn't you be working?" "I'm on break" Fuzzle replied. "Is this the same break you were on when I showed up last night?" Ayden asked, crossing his arm as he looked around and glared at seemingly nothing. "... Yes..." she replied and Ayden narrowed his eyes at her, baring his teeth as he let out a growl. "Calm down, Mr. Happy," she stated, rolling her eyes, "I swear, I'll get back to work on it tonight." "You'd better..." Ayden hissed, before turning and heading off down the street, glaring at nothing.

"Gees... Such a grouch..." Fuzzle muttered as Chase walked back over after stealing a drink from a nearby stand. The stand owner was still looking around confused as the drink he'd had set out had just suddenly disappeared right before his eyes. Fuzzle blinked, _Since when does a ghost need refreshments? Oh well, whatever..._ "... You didn't get me one?" she asked and Chase rolled his eyes.

"You should of expected him to yell at you. He did ask you to fix his problem and he really wants it to get done..." Chase stated, returning to the original subject. "I know I know, but still. He doesn't have to be such a stick-in-the-mud about it" she said, glancing at the older clone. "Yeah, well, that's just how he is..." the clone said before taking another drink. "Yeah... He needs a girlfriend..." Fuzzle stated. She thought Chase might have grinned at the comment but instead he frowned. "You're lucky he wasn't around to hear that..." he muttered. Fuzzle sighed, "Yeah... I know..."

Kicking a bit of snow up, Ayden had his head low as he walked slowly down a mostly empty street. It was cleared due to many people stalking around the fair. However, he still kept his hood up but was frowning deeply at the ground.

_That was the same street..._ he thought to himself, closing his eyes for a moment as he wrapped his arms around himself. He shuddered, but not from the cold.

Looking back up, he hissed loudly as the sun reached his face and he tilted his head back down. "Stupid sensitivity..." he complained, opening his eyes slightly. At times Ayden wished he didn't have his sensitive senses. He wished he'd been created a normal clone. Yet, he was glad for his demon powers and bad attitude all the same. It made him different from his counterpart. Even so, he knew, even if it didn't seem that way, the whole fact was why he'd lost a lot in his life.

With a sigh, the clone looked up at a nearby awning. Bending his legs, he sprang off the ground and managed to reach the awning. Gripping the side, he pulled himself up onto it.

Not caring about the snow, he lied down, head resting on his arms. He closed his eyes, even though he knew he wouldn't sleep. However, he also knew that he'd have a better chance of being left alone if he appeared to be asleep. He knew if Fuzzle or Chase came by they'd know, but they also knew better than to get on his nerves so he hoped they'd leave him alone for the day, or at least part of the day.

Nuzzling his face into the sleeves of his hoodie, he drifted into his own thoughts. Trying to block out the sound of the street fair that reached his ears from the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Shattered Sanity**

_Begin Flashback_

"It is really necessary to do that?" Ayden questioned, cocking an eyebrow at his creator as she chugged a can of Pepsi as they stood in front of a restaurant. She simply nodded, trying to stay focused.

They appear younger. Fuzzle was a bit shorter with a bit longer hair. Currently wearing a white t-shirt with light green sleeves and a pair of jean shorts, it was obviously summer. Being only two years younger, she was just as insane acting as ever.

As she finishing the drink, the sixteen year old Ayden narrowed his eyes, annoyed. Currently wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt, Fuzzle always questioned him about why he wore black on hot, summer days. At that age, he hadn't started wearing his cap yet even though he had it around but he did have his gloves.

"Are you quite done...?" he asked and the girl nodded. "Where's Chase at?" she asked, tossing the can into a nearby trash can. "What am I? His keeper?" Ayden asked. "... Maybe..." Fuzzle replied and Ayden rolled his eyes, "well, you are his brother." "His /younger/ brother?" Ayden added. "Should that make a difference...?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Yes" Ayden replied, obviously lying and doing so in a stubborn way.

Fuzzle sighed, "You need to learn to look after him as much as he looks after you. He might get seriously hurt one day and if you don't know where he is then how are you suppose to help him?"

Annoyed, Ayden narrowed his eyes at her before turning to leave. "Hey, don't just leave me alone" she called, running after him.

Yes, this was the town Ayden despised, but, currently, he didn't. As said before, a lot of things can happen in a week, but plenty more can happen in two years.

"I forget... Why did you come here again?" Ayden asked, glancing at the girl as she walked beside him. "Visiting..." she replied, smiling. "Who?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. " ... Someone you wouldn't know..." she replied. "Right..." Ayden muttered, rolling his eyes as he looked away again.

"Don't you have anyone else to bug?" he asked after a moments silence. "I'm not really bugging you..." Fuzzle said, looking at him with a fake hurt expression. Ayden rolled his eyes, "You're following me, aren't you?" he questioned and Fuzzle glared. "And how is that bugging?" she asked. "I don't like people following me" he replied. "Chase follows you all the time" she stated, still glaring. "/That/ is different. He's my brother" Ayden said, cocking an eyebrow at her. "So...?" she questioned. "Would you just stop arguing with me!" Ayden hissed, glaring at her and she jerked her head away slightly.

"Okay! Okay! ... I'll stop arguing with you Mr. Happy" Fuzzle said, rolling her eyes but cringed as Ayden growled. "Stop giving me stupid nicknames..." he hissed. "But I like giving you stupid nicknames" she said, grinning a stupid smile and Ayden glared at her, baring his teeth as he stopped walking and Fuzzle did as well.

It wasn't her normal nature to bug Ayden in such a way that made him want to literally attack her. Although he often threatened her, he never put anything into action. Yet, she was just happy to be able to see the two again. Having moved out recently, she hadn't seen either of them for a few months.

"Er..." she muttered, taking a few steps away, "I think I'm... going to go see if I can find Chase." With that, she headed off down a different street at a quickened pace. "That's right you better run!" he called before shaking his head, "annoying little-"

"How nice you are to your creator" came a voice and Ayden whipped his head around. An about fourteen year old girl sat on a crate that was sitting against a nearby building, teasingly smiling at him with an eyebrow cocked. She didn't seem to mind the fact the bangs of her orange, inches past shoulder length, hair fell into her face, covering her eyes a bit. Her eyes. What color were they now? Red?

_No, they are more of a blue color_ Ayden thought. He'd really only seen her eyes red when she was arguing or fighting with someone. Then again he hadn't seen her in a few years and was surprised to see she hadn't changed much.

He also took note to the fact she was wearing a dark orange t-shirt, not one of the shirts she usually wore, and a pair of blue jeans.

She was a clone herself, part demon as well. Ayden didn't know how much alike she was to him concerning any demon likeness she had. That is, aside from the red eyes.

Crossing his arms, Ayden grinned and decided to act like he wasn't somewhat shocked to see here there, "And like you're any better when it comes to treating your creator nicely, Azzy?" The girl rolled her eyes, "I suppose not. Yet again, when am I really required to be nice to her?" "Exactly my point..." Ayden stated, watching as Azzy hopped off the crate, "speaking of which, where is the freak?"

She crossed her arms, "I don't know and really, I don't care." Ayden rolled his eyes, frowning now, "Such a specific answer." "Hey, you never asked for specifics..." Azzy stated before turning and headed off down the street. "Maybe you should expect it" he called to her. Not bothering to comment, Azzy continued on.

Ayden simply watched but a wide smile spread across his face once she was gone from sight.

"Staring, are you?" a voice asked, causing him to jump and whip around.

Chase was standing behind him, only he was alive rather than being a ghostly spirit. His eyes were how they use to be and he was currently wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans.

"No..." Ayden replied, an annoyed look finding its way onto this face. Chase rolled his eyes, grinning a teasing smile at his brother, "... Right. When did she show up?" "Dunno. By the way, Fuzzle's apparently "looking" for you," Ayden stated, turning away from his brother, "you might want to go make sure she hasn't hurt herself yet."

"Why would I do that?" Chase asked, still smiling and Ayden laughed slightly. "Good point..." he muttered. "Of course. I suppose I should make sure she's not almost getting into a fight with anyone again," the older brother commented, "I remember last time we left her alone." An evil smile spread across Ayden's face, "She probably would have killed that person had you not dragged her away." Chase nodded, "Maybe I should of let her and then we could of laughed at her when she got taken away." "Yeah... Probably would have been the better choice" Ayden agreed.

"Oh well... Can't change it now," the older boy stated, shaking his head before turning, "come one. Let's go hunt her down." "I think I'd rather-" Ayden started to say but Chase quickly grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him in the direction he was going. "No, you're coming with me" he said and Ayden groaned, annoyed, but complied with the demands as the two headed off in search of their creator.

It hadn't taken the two long to come across the insane girl. She was complaining to someone about one thing or another and just as both boys were sure she was about to attack or something Chase stepped in and dragged the girl away from the older man she'd been talking too.

"It's a rip off! You'll hear from my lawyer!" she yelled, shaking a fist at the man who shook his head in disbelief. "You don't have a lawyer..." Ayden stated and Fuzzle narrowed her eyes at him, an eyebrow raised.

"You need to learn how to not attack people you don't know" Chase stated. "This coming from one of the clones who snaps random people almost every day" Fuzzle muttered and Chase glared at her. "Well it's true, isn't it!" she asked defensively and the older boy rolled his eyes.

"That may be true but you're not an evil, demon clone, now are you?" Ayden questioned, cocking an eyebrow. "... No... But I still have a right to complain" their creator replied stubbornly. "Yes... But you don't have to get into a fist fight when you complain" Ayden stated, rolling his eyes. "Now where's the fun in that?" she asked, grinning.

Both boys sighed. "You're hopeless..." Chase muttered. "And you two are bad role models but you don't see me complaining..." Fuzzle stated, closing her eyes. "Yes... But why do /we/ have to act as role models when you're /our/ creator?" Ayden asked. Fuzzle narrowed her eyes at him and muttered, "And you point being?" Ayden rolled his eyes before pointing off down a nearby street, "I do believe the house your staying at is that way."

Fuzzle rolled her eyes, "Yes. What's your point?" "This," he replied and shoved her towards the street, "go home." "Make me!" she hissed, turning around but froze as both boys glared at her, teeth bared and growing longer and sharper.

"... Fine!" she yelled, crossing her arms and closing her eyes as she turned, stalking off down the street.

"I swear... Talking to her is like talking to a brick wall sometimes..." Chase muttered, shaking his head while Ayden turned to head off down another street. "I hadn't realized you'd talked to a brick wall before..." he teased and Chase glared after him. "And where are you going?" the older asked. "I don't know... Somewhere..." Ayden replied and Chase rolled his eyes. "Very specific..." he muttered before wincing as he allowed his wings to sprout from his back.

Ayden stopped and looked back as he heard his brother release a gasp of pain but notice he was simply allowing his wings out. Chase noticed, "What?" Ayden simply shrugged. "Ah, well, I'm going to go see if I can't find something to do" the older clone said. He watched his brother give a nod before taking off into the air. Ayden watched but his brother was quickly out of sight.

"Well... Now what?" he muttered to himself before a stupid smile formed on his face, "oh, I know. How about I stop talking to myself?" Shaking his head, he continued off down the street, looking for something to keep himself entertained.

It was hours later, dark now, and Ayden quickly hurried out of an alley way. He had slightly wide eyes and was looking around rapidly.

"Okay... That was a bad idea on my part..." he muttered, still looking around. However, a wide, evil like grin spread across his face as he held up a bag full of money. "Of course, conning people out of their money is always enjoyable... Except when they decide to hunt you down because they're idiots..." he mutter to himself before glancing around quickly before taking off running again as he heard some yelling from nearby.

"... I could of probably easily taken them on..." he muttered as he hurried down an empty street, "eh, oh well. Hm. Bet Chase is probably wondering where I wondered off to now." Of course, the older boy would question his sibling about the money but if he knew better he better not bring it up around Fuzzle. Knowing her she'd ask for some as usual.

Coming to a halt at a corner of the street, he peered around the corner. He didn't see anyone, not surprising since the street currently didn't have a lot of residents. It was more often used for things like street fairs and other town social events.

Letting out a sigh, he turned away and rested up against the building. The sound of something being smashed had Ayden jumping, startled. Looking around rapidly, he tried seeking out where the noise had come from. Seeing nothing, he cocked an eyebrow.

Another crash had the boy growing somewhat irritated. With a confused blink, he looked back down the street he'd just looked over. The noises were coming from one of the houses. Sounded like it was coming from one near the end, which was currently blocked off due to a parade schedules tomorrow to travel down the main street nearby.

"Hm" he muttered as he entered the street, keeping low as he crept along. Keeping in the shadows, he didn't jump this time as another crash was heard but smiled as he finally detected the house it was coming from. Even with the surrounding darkness, considering the street had no street lights, he was able to see better than most.

"A mushroom shaped house..." he muttered pointlessly once he came upon the building. Getting down to his knees as he took note to the low windows, he slowly crawled towards the house.

A loud crash erupted once he'd gotten close and he quickly scurried under the window, fearing someone might look out the window and spot him.

With a deep breath, he slowly but surely rose up until he could just see into the house. It was dark, but he could still see some tipped over furniture.

"What the heck...?" he muttered but his eyes perked up at seeing two others shadows on the wall of the room. Slowly, he moved over so he could get a better look. He thought he heard voices inside but couldn't make out what either of the two were saying.

He had moved over as far as he could and could just see one of the two inside. An elderly toad woman. Ayden recognized her as the toad who ran the town's bakery. She was on the ground, seemingly either crying about something or having a heart attack. Ayden's eyes shifted in confusion until he saw the shadow of the other person move closer to the injured toad. Ayden ducked his head a bit, eyes narrowed as he tried to spot the obvious attacker. Eventually the being moved into view and the clone's eyes perked up a bit at what he saw.

"... Azzy?" he muttered but cringed as he watched the red-head land a kick to the toad woman, sending her small, crippled form into the wall behind her. "Ouch..." he muttered as he heard a loud snap and the old toad went limp. Not that it mattered. She had enough wounds on her that she'd have probably died of blood loss soon enough.

Letting his guard down a bit more, Ayden edged up to get a better look. He could see her now. It was indeed Azzy. She was staring at the old toad, her eyes glazed over with what Ayden assumed as irrational anger. What had triggered it he couldn't guess.

Ayden blinked, confused as he watched the expression on Azzy's face change from anger to more of a frightened one. He watched her mutter something, taking a few steps away and stared at her hands. Ayden noticed there were patches of blood on her small hands.

Slowly, he backed down again as he watched Azzy take a side-step towards the door. He ducked down as he saw she was about to turn. Quickly, he hid behind a nearby bush and was out of sight just as the girl burst through the door.

Ayden peered through an opening in the bush. He noticed her looking around, taking in deep breaths before she took off running, stumbling as she turned out onto the street and darted off to who knows where.

Slowly, Ayden stood, staring with a confused and somewhat upset expression in the direction she'd gone. "What now, Azzy? What now?" he muttered. Silently, he crept over to the door and peered inside. He could see the toad woman, lying face down in a pool of blood. He knew someone was bound to know something was up if they walked by and spotted the door open for no real reason. Even so, he knew someone was bound to figure out sooner or later and sighed.

He pressed a finger to the door, pushing it closed before walked down the walkway. Before heading out onto the street, he looked in both directions. Nobody was around, not even Azzy. He assumed she'd run off somewhere to gather her thoughts. Taking a step out onto the road, he looked to the ground. There were a few blood spots splattered in some places for a few feet down the road but they quickly disappeared, leaving no trace.

"This is probably going to provoke some angry towns folk" he muttered, glancing back at the house once before running off down the street. He didn't want to be caught standing in front of the house, especially with a bag of money tied to the belt loop on the side of his pants.

"As for me, I was never here" he muttered, not about to tell anyone of what he saw anytime soon. He glanced back then, "Wonder what made her do that anyway." He sighed, though. _Hard to tell with that one..._ he thought before darting around a corner. He decided me might as well go see what his brother was up too, if he could find him.

"I forget... Why did we agree to go with her to see this parade?"

"Uh... I don't really know anymore..."

"Oh please..." Fuzzle muttered, sitting at a table in a restaurant, "you two complain more than me sometimes."

Chase, who was sitting to her left, rolled his eyes while Ayden, sitting in front of her, stared at the ceiling. "At least we're not trying to pound you into a bloody pulp..." the older clone stated, causing the girl to narrow her eyes. "Like you two don't threaten my life on a daily basis" she stated, cocking an eyebrow. "True..." Chase stated, lifting a cup to his lips and taking a drink.

Fuzzle simply rolled her eyes before glancing at Ayden. "You're awful quiet..." she commented. "Huh?" Ayden muttered, looking back down at her. Chase cocked an eyebrow at him. "Absent-minded much?" he questioned and Ayden rolled his eyes. "Just thinking..." the younger clone started but jerked back as his creator leaned over the table, beaming at him.

"About what?" she asked. "... None of your business..." he replied, looking at her confused. "He's obviously not going to tell you" Chase said, taking another drink. "Yeah... So I'll just have to pick at him until he says something he doesn't want to. Now Ayden," the girl stated before widening her eyes in a puppy-dog like state and in a baby like tone, "did you and your girlfriend that no one knows about have a fight?"

Ayden quickly slammed a hand into the girls face, sending her back into her chair which, in turn, toppled over. A few others in the restaurant looked over but quickly looked away, shaking their heads with amused grins.

Chase had bust up laughing at his creators expense, resting his forehead on the table. "Firstly, I DON'T have a girlfriend, and second, you're an idiot" Ayden hissed, crossing his arms angrily. "I think... I heard something crack..." Fuzzle commented, as she sat up, placing a hand to her head. "Hopefully it was your head but knowing our luck it was just the chair..." Ayden muttered but cocked an eyebrow at Chase as he continued laughing. "I should sure hope you laughing at her..." the younger brother threatened and Chase seemed to give a sort of nod.

"That's it... For that, you're-" Fuzzle started to threaten as she was able to set the chair back up and none of its legs were broken. "Don't you be threatening me" Ayden hissed and an innocent smile quickly formed on the girls face. "You're quite right... Come then," she stated, turning, "let us head off to the parade."

Before she could get far though, Chase grinned, "Don't you normally have to pay BEFORE you leave." Their creator paused before turning back around and walked back to the table, "Good point."

Ayden shook his head while Chase laughed lightly as he watched the girl scoop up the bill and strolled over to the counter. "Maybe we are bad role models" Ayden muttered as Chase finished off his drink. "Eh, at least she hasn't started stealing money from people yet..." the older brother teased, grinning at his brother. "It's called 'conning', brother" Ayden corrected. "Conning. Stealing. What's the difference?" Chase questioned and Ayden rolled his eyes.

"Come on, slow pokes" Fuzzle called to them from the door. Both boys let out a sigh before standing to follow after the girl.

"First you make us sit through that parade now we have to come with you to the fair!" Ayden hissed as he was pulled in through the fair entrance, his creator gripping his arm tightly. Chase followed just behind, annoyed. Both boys eyes averted to a blue state as the entered the crowded area again. Doing so was one of their ways of masking their real identity. It worked a lot of the time but a few times they were recognized, most often than not by people who actually knew them.

"Yup..." she replied, smiling at him before looking around. "Great... There goes our day..." Ayden muttered, annoyed. "Oh, bah! Would you stop being such a stick-in-the-mud and enjoy yourself for once? Now, come on" Fuzzle asked and Ayden rolled his eyes as she dragged him along. He could of easily pried her hand from his arm or else just simply walked away but it's not like he had anything better to do. Besides, he didn't suspect she'd get him into any sort of trouble... For the most part.

"Hm. Wonder where the cotton candy is..." she muttered. "That actually sounds good..." Chase stated. "You're not helping the situation" Ayden hissed and Chase simply shrugged before stating, "I'm going to go look around." "Don't leave me alone with her" Ayden pleaded and Chase laughed before walking off in another direction.

"Stop being such a baby," Fuzzle stated, "following me around won't kill you." "You sure about that?" Ayden asked and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am sure..." she replied, dragging him off to who knows where. Lord knows what she was looking for or if she was even looking for anything specific.

Annoyed, Ayden glanced up, eye narrowed. "Of all days for this stupid fair... Why couldn't they pick one that wasn't going to be who knows how hot...?" he questioned, looking back down. "What? Too hot out here for you?" Fuzzle asked, rolling her eyes. "Yes..." the clone complained, cocking an eyebrow at her, "sitting in that dunk tank over there would be better." As he pointed with his free hand, Fuzzle looked towards the direction and spotted the dunk tank, a wide smile on her face. "I love dunk tanks" she said, still smiling. "Tch! Most people can't even hit the stupid target" Ayden said, rolling his eyes. "I bet if you were to sit up there someone would get lucky and hit it" Fuzzle teased. "I highly doubt it..." Ayden argued. "All right. I bet if you were to sit up there for ten people, someone would hit the target. What do you say?" Fuzzle suggested, "I'll pay." "All right. You're on" Ayden stated, deciding to amuse the girl by playing her game and Fuzzle pulled him towards the dunk tank.

After a bit of reasoning with the dunk tank worker, and paying, Fuzzle pushed Ayden towards the ladder leading up to the dunk tank platform. He sighed and climbed up, sitting himself on the platform and crossed his arms as Fuzzle walked around to the other side of the tank.

As Ayden has said, not one person had been able to hit the target yet and the tenth person was up. He let out an annoyed sigh as two balls passed, unable to make contact with the target. The fact that the sun rays were reflecting off the water below him, making it seem hotter than it should, made things no better. _The heat must be getting to me... Why did I ever think sitting up here was better than walking around?_ He wondered to himself, uncaring as he watched the third ball fly.

It just barely missed the target and the koopa, who'd thrown the ball, sighed while Fuzzle narrowed her eyes, annoyed.

"See?" Ayden questioned her and she rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the target, "I told you no one ever hits the stupid-."

Fuzzle slammed her fist into the target, not letting Ayden finish his comment as the platform gave out under him. His eyes widened in surprise before he toppled into the water.

The girl couldn't help but bust up laughing as she'd seen the clone's startled expression. Even a few spectators couldn't help but giggle but mostly because of the fact Fuzzle had simply hit the target with her hand.

Ayden climbed part way out of the tank, resting as he sputtered water from his mouth. He was completely soaked and not happy about it. He hadn't been ready for when Fuzzle had hit the switch. If he had known the fall was coming, he would of grabbed the cage behind him and kept himself from falling, as he'd planned But, no. She just had to make things difficult.

"How's the water?" she asked and Ayden cocked an eyebrow at her, glaring. Grumbling, the clone pulled himself onto the side of the tank before jumping to the ground. "I really hate you..." he muttered, patting the side of his head, trying to get the water out of his ear.

"Hey, at least you got cooled off..." Fuzzle stated, "and besides, since I was technically not a thrower you technically fell in within ten throwers so... You lose!" Ayden bared his teeth and the girl took off running. "I may get in trouble for killing her..." he muttered before running after her, "but nobody ever said I couldn't seriously injure her."

"How can two humans just disappear in a crowd of mostly toads and koopas?" Chase mumbled to himself as he looked around. Even with most of those around him being shorter beings, he hadn't been able to find his brother or Fuzzle.

"This is getting annoying," he muttered, "maybe they-." Before he could finish, a panting, wide smiling Fuzzle ran up from behind him and hide in front of him. Chase cocked an eyebrow, "What's the matter with you?" Just as she was about to answer, a soaked Ayden appeared at their side and snatched the back of Fuzzle's shirt.

"... What happened to you?" Chase asked, confused as he watched Fuzzle try and pry Ayden's hand loose. "Dunk tank..." Ayden muttered, annoyed but didn't loosen his grip on the girls shirt. "Why did you get in a dunk tank...?" Chase asked.

"Well, actually, I paid for him to get up on the platform for ten thrower," Fuzzle explained, still trying to get away, "he was complaining about how hot it is out here and said sitting in the dunk tank would be better but said something about how no one ever hits the target. So I bet if he got up there that in ten throwers someone would hit the target. He agreed and, well, a /thrower/ didn't hit the target. I just smacked it after the tenth thrower struck out, which technically means it was in ten throwers since I wasn't a thrower." "... So what did you bet?" the older brother asked, laughing slightly. "Nothing really..." Fuzzle replied.

"More like my dignity..." Ayden muttered, finally releasing the girls shirt and she stumbled foreword, "anyway. Chase, you stick around with her now, I'm going to go. I need to change out of these clothes." "Good idea!" Fuzzle said, beaming at Chase who gave her a slightly frightened look.

"You're not seriously going to leave me alone with-" he started to say but Ayden was already leaving. "... Oi... " Chase muttered, slapping his hand over his face but Fuzzle grabbed hold of his other arm and began to drag him off to who knows where.

"Come on, Chasey!" she chimed, "let's go see if we can find another amusing fair booth... Place..." "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to end up with some kind of injury...?" Chase groaned but followed none the less.

"Stupid, annoying, incompetent-" Ayden continued to ramble as he tugged his drenched shirt over his head after he'd left the fair. A few "scars" could be seen on his back, more like where his wings and spines attached to his body.

Annoyed, he rang out his shirt best he could before placing it over his shoulders. "Eh, I suppose the water did feel good..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair, feeling it was mostly dry now, and sighed.

"What the heck happened to you?" someone asked from above, and Ayden jumped, tensing up as he did.

Azzy was sitting on the roof top of one of the buildings, an eyebrow raised as she stared down at him. "Let's just say it involved Fuzzle and a dunk tank..." he replied, relaxing a bit once he realized who'd spoken to him. "That's... Not terribly surprising..." Azzy stated, glancing off to the side with half open eyes.

He'd seen it then, when she'd paused. Whatever had caused her to murder the toad woman the night before was on her mind now. While Ayden knew it was not his business and should probably just leave her be, an urge to talk to her tugged at him.

He mentally groaned. _Why didn't I fly back...?_ He wondered, biting his bottom lip as he looked down. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her, it was more of there was a chance of Chase or Fuzzle coming by and seeing him talking to her. After all, if they saw they would certainly ask questions and he hated it when they did so.

With a soft sigh, he looked up again, giving a small smile, "There something on your mind?" Azzy slowly looked back down at him, confused, "Why?" "I just... You look like something's troubling you..." he replied, giving a small shrug. She looked away again, but Ayden noticed her nod slightly. He smiled but winced as the wings sprouted from his back while Azzy glanced down at him, confused.

"What are you-?" she started to ask but blinked as Ayden jumped off the ground, beating his wings to gain quick altitude. She jumped off the ledge she was sitting on and backed up a few steps as he hovered in the air a few inches higher than the roof top.

Azzy narrowed her eyes a him as he alighted on the ledge, his wings folding back. "What are you up to?" she asked. Ayden winced again as the wings melded into his back, "You said you had something on your mind." "So?" she asked, crossing her arms. "So, it's not healthy to keep stuff in, as the idiot's always telling me" he replied. "I never said I was going to talk about it," Azzy retorted, turning to her side, eye closes, "and even if I did talk with someone about it that person would certainly not be you." Ayden rolled his eyes, "Not like there's anyone else."

Ayden couldn't help but feel a bit guilty when the flash of hurt crosed her face. He knew he'd struck a nerve but a true one none the less. From what he knew Elit, her "sister of sorts, wasn't around and the red-head seemed pretty much alone. Plus, they had been something like friends when they were younger. That counted for something, right?

After a moment of acting stubborn, along with Ayden simply grinning at her, Azzy finally let out a sigh. "Fine..." she muttered, sounding somewhat annoyed as she approached him. Ayden rolled his eyes as she sat next to him, her arms still crossed. She was silent; however, and stared at the roof in front of her.

"... Well?" he questioned, cocking an eyebrow. She was still silent and Ayden released his breath, turning his head to look back. He could see the fair from that roof. He could only imagine what kind of trouble Fuzzle had gotten Chase into by now.

"You're not going to tell anyone if I tell you this... Are you?" she suddenly asked and Ayden looked back to her. "No. Not if you don't want me to..." he replied. Azzy seemed to give a small nod before looking away again.

"... I killed someone last night..." she muttered. Of course, he knew that, but he didn't want her to know he'd seen it happen. "So? I'm sure you're killed someone before..." he said. He certainly had, even when he was ten. But that was nothing more than self defense.

"Yeah... But I never knew the others..." she said, looking away. Ayden cocked an eyebrow. This part he didn't know. "So, you're saying you knew the person you killed?" he asked. "Yeah... I knew her... She was the one that has been taking care of me for the past year..." Azzy added. Ayden's eyes perked up a bit, "So you killed the person you were living with? ... Why?" "I... I got angry and... I let my emotions get the better of me..." she replied, still looking away, "I'm not safe to be around..."

A bit annoyed by the last comment, Ayden rolled his eyes. She had made similar statements before when they were younger, commenting on how she feared she would be too dangerous to be around in the future. Ayden never liked to hear her speak of it. He always knew there was a nice side to her. Where she'd hidden it; however, he didn't know.

"Maybe... But not in the way you're accusing yourself of..." he muttered. "What do you know...?" she questioned, rolling her eyes, annoyed. "More than you know... Trust me..." he mumbled under his breath. Azzy looked at him, her brow pulled together and he wondered if she'd heard him, "Did you say something?" "No" Ayden replied quickly, causing Azzy's expression to grow suspicious. "Right..." she muttered, looking down at the roof top again.

"Why are you getting so bummed about the whole thing? I understand she was the person who was letting you live with her but-" Ayden started to question but Azzy quickly shot him a glare. "Because I actually cared about her, all right!" she hissed before turning away again, "and it seems lately like she's was the only one who really cared about me." Ayden blinked, a bit taken back by the sudden outburst.

After a moment, Ayden shook his head and flashed a playful smile, "... That's not true... I'm your friend, aren't I? You wouldn't have agreed to talk if I wasn't." "... I suppose..." Azzy replied, her expression changing to more of a saddened one. "So... Doesn't that mean I care too?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Maybe," she replied, narrowing her eyes, "but that doesn't mean-."

She winced as Ayden ruffled her hair a bit and shot him a glare once he'd recoiled his hand. "You just keep telling yourself that" he stated, standing again and walked off towards another side of the roof.

"You don't even know what I was going to say" she hissed, getting to her feet and took a few steps in the direction he'd gone. "Sure I don't" he said, grinning back at her for a moment before stepping onto the roof ledge and jumped off.

Landing on the street with ease, Ayden stuffed his hands into his pockets and smiled as he started off. Even when younger he'd always found himself a bit more upbeat after conversing with a red-head, regardless of what was spoken during the conversation.

Whistling to himself, Ayden hadn't gotten very far before his temporary peace was interrupted.

"Hey! Ayden!" the voice of his creator called and the girl came rushing up, a wide, stupid smile planted on her face.

"What now?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Fuzzle blinked, "I thought you were going to change?" she questioned, noting his still soaking shirt hanging over his shoulders. "Er, I got side-tracked..." he replied, glancing off in another direction. Fuzzle, cocked an eyebrow, "... Right..."

"Ow. Ow. Ow..." Ayden blinked and look off down the street to see his brother limping towards them, glaring at the ground an muttering words of pain over and over again.

"What happened to you...?" he asked and Chase looked up, one eye half open for no real reason.

"Fuzzle decided it would be fun to try and win the strength testing game..." he replied. "Oh..." Ayden muttered, looking at Fuzzle who smiled innocently.

"Anyway, how about-"

_Pause Flashback_

"Ayden!" a voice yelled and the clone's eyes flew open. He let out a yelp at seeing his creator right in front of him and stumbled away, tripping over the side of the awning in the process.

Fuzzle blinked from her hanging position on the side of the awning as he landed in a pile of snow. "Didn't mean to startle you..." she muttered.

"I told you to leave him alone!" Chase hissed as he floated up next to her and Ayden groaned, pulling himself out of the snow. "Since when do I listen to you twenty-four seven?" she asked, rolling her eyes and Chase sighed. "I suppose that's true..." he muttered but before the girl could make some stupid comment, she was yanked down from her hanging place and landed hard on her back where the snow wasn't so thick.

Ayden, having been the cause of the fall, was glared at her now, baring his teeth, "What is your problem!" "I was just-" she started to reply, sitting up slowly and tried cracking her back but Ayden kneed her hard in the side, sending her back down.

"Did I ask for you to disturb me!" he yelled, and the girl cocked an eyebrow at him from her lying position on her side. "No..." she muttered, annoyed. "Then don't next time!" he growled before stalking off down the street to seek out another place to, hopefully, relax.

Fuzzle slowly stood up, a hand to her side as she glared after him. "He /really/ need to learn to lighten up..." she muttered and Chase shook his head. "It's not his fault. You should know better than to bother him..." he argued. "It's hard getting use to THIS him. He use to not mind it so much" she retorted, rolling her eyes again. "Yeah, but that was before I died and..." Chase paused, not bothering to finish. "I know, I know..." she sighed, closing her eyes, "but he just really needs to get over all that." "It's hard for him..." Chase stated. "True... But it's been what? Four damn years!" she yelled, her eyes now narrowed in an annoyed fashion. "A bit over two, actually, but yes, he's different. You of all people besides me should know that..." Chase argued, crossing his arms. Fuzzle didn't reply for a moment but bobbed her head a bit.

"Yeah, I should... I just kind of wish he was happy again..." she muttered. "You do know he wasn't completely happy before, right?" Chase asked. "Yeah, but he was happier then than he is now..." she argued before heading off down the street, back towards the hotel. Chase sighed, knowing that was truth, and followed after her.

_Continue Flashback_

"No. I am not helping you" Ayden hissed, glaring at the magikoopa before him. The wizard was garbed in a blue robe and known quite well around the kingdom. Kamek was his name, a lackey of Bowser's and a loyal one at that.

"But, you would be doing the empire of evil a favor. Besides, she won't listen to me. And I figure she would listen to you, seeing as how your a friend of hers..." the magikoopa pleaded, trying to convince the clone to help him.

Ayden only narrowed his eyes more. He had never been a fan of Bowser and would never wish working for the overly large koopa upon anyone, especially Azzy.

"My answer is still no..." he hissed, crossing his arms. "What if I paid you?" the magikoopa asked. "How much?" Ayden asked, cocking an eyebrow but something was hidden in his expression. "As much as you want" Kamek replied. "Ten thousand coins" the clone replied.

Kamek paused, thinking this over. "Fine..." he muttered, pulling his wand from inside the sleeve of his robe and twirled it in the air. A bag full of coins appeared in the magikoopa's hands and he held it out towards the clone, "Do you need to count them?" "No need" Ayden replied, snatching the bag away from the magikoopa and tied it to one of his belt loops, "I wasn't going to help you anyway so I really don't care."

"What!" the wizard yelled, an eye twitching as a dark smile crept onto Ayden's face. "Don't try and bribe a con. It'll get you nowhere..." the clone stated, "now, if you'll excuse me, I've got better things to do than argue with a minion of Bowser's who won't take no for an answer. If she doesn't want to leave, I'm not going to make her."

Ayden strained his ears, knowing the magikoopa wasn't about to give up that easily. "Fine. If you won't willingly help. I'll make you"Kamek hissed before Ayden stiffened as he heard the magikoopa start to chant.

Ayden stopped but just as he whipped around, he felt an invisible force strike him in the head. He twitched, feeling his mind start to go numb.

"Wha-What are you doing!" he yelled, having to force his arms to lift his hands to his head. "It's called mind control" the magikoopa replied and Ayden snarled. "N-no! Get out of my head!" he yelled, and jerked back as he was able to break Kamek's focus. "Rotten little..." the wizard mumbled and cast another spell at Ayden. Before it hit; however, the clone had tumbled behind a nearby crate, panting. Breaking from the wizards hold had drained a lot of his energy.

"Damn it..." he muttered, knowing he probably couldn't get too close to Kamek without being hit again.

"And I thought you weren't the type to run away from a fight" he heard the magikoopa taunt, trying to lure him out. "Yeah!" Ayden called, "but I'm not an idiot!"

With that, the demon's wings sprouted from his back and he leaped into the air.

Kamek's eyes followed after him. "Think flying will stop me!" he called before disappearing.

Ayden wasn't sure of just how to get away from the wizard, but he knew he had to try something and flying was one of his specialties. However, he seemed to have forgotten, in his sudden panic, that the magikoopa could fly himself. More of less it was a hover in mid-air, but flying none the less.

Even with his knowledge of this when it happened, it made it no more surprising as Kamek reappeared some feet in front of him, wand raised.

"Wha-!" he stammered out before stretching his wings out farther, catching more air and flew higher, just barely dodging another shot from the wand.

"Dang..." the wizard mumbled, watching the clone fly overhead in an apparent quicker pace and disappeared again. Ayden looked back, just in time to see the magikoopa's form disappear. "Damn! I forgot he could do that! Idiot!" he cursed himself, looking foreword again and spotted Kamek reform just a head of him. He was more prepared this time and dodged he attack much easier this time.

"Ha!" Ayden taunted, looking back, "you miss-" He never finished as he collided head first with something. He assumed it was a billboard, knowing none of the buildings were that tall. Losing a bit of consciousness, he tumbled down, landed hard in a rooftop.

Kamek laughed, amused at the clones cockiness and slowly hovered down towards him.

Ayden groaned, lying on his stomach. "Stupid..." he cursed himself again and looked up as the magikoopa landed in front of him. He could barely move with the wind having been knocked out of him. He knew he wasn't going to get out of his one and winced when he felt the wizard slowly take over his mind again.

Kamek laughed again, eyes closed as he decided he might as well explore his mind a bit. He was studying his memories some and came upon a recent one. A wide smile spread across his beak.

"So, you know something no one else does, huh?" he muttered, suddenly turning invisible as he opened his eyes, "we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"

Just as the wizard had, Ayden's eyes opened as well. However, there was a difference in them. They appeared distant and completely unfeeling yet his expression mirrored that of the magikoopa's current one.

"You can only blame yourself for this..." the clone muttered even thought it was Kamek talking, "she would have never known it was going to be your fault if you'd just agreed to help earlier."

He could feel Ayden mentally trying to fight again and grinned. "It's no use boy," he said, "and since I know you're awake, you might as well sit back and watch the show."

"You up there! You are under arrest for murder! Surrender yourself now!" a toad cop yelled through a megaphone at the figure sitting on a rooftop on the building in front of him.

Azzy blinked, looking down at the squad of cops below. "I repeat! You are under arrest! Come quietly or we will come after you!" the same cop called to her but she just continued to stare, shocked and confused at the same time. She slowly looked up.

"How did they-?" she started to question, but something caught her attention and her head whipped to the side, eyes wide.

He was standing on the ledge of a nearby rooftop, arms crossing and grinning an evil like smile at her. "Ayden...?" she muttered, confused. Her eyes shifted, studying him until her eyes landed on the bang of coins strapped to a belt loop of his jeans. 'Did someone bribe you...?' she mouthed, seeming to hope he would reply in some way. His smile only grew in response.

"... How could you... I thought you said... That we were friends?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes. He didn't make a motion at all, and continued to simply smile.

Anger and sadness only boiled in the red-head's eyes. She glared at him now, standing slowly. "You traitor!" she yelled, furious as she pointed at him, confusing the police below. "You lying little traitor! I should of known you couldn't be trusted!" she yelled, "I-... You-... Grah!" She grew frustrated, whipping around and ran towards the other side of the roof.

"Hey! Get back here!" a police toad called from below and a few of the cops entered the building below.

Ayden still didn't move, unable to with Kamek controlling him. All the same, he was still able to see everything he was seeing, hear what he was hearing. He was furious at Kamek for making him do that. The police never would of known it had been her if no one told. None of the clones were on record, he knew it.

Kamek could feel the clones emotions suddenly run wild, jumping from sadness, to frustration, to pure hatred and anger. He laughed mentally and forced Ayden to walk, planning to release his mind in an alley somewhere.

Ayden jerked back as his mind was released and Kamek turned visible again. The clone shook his head as it still felt a bit numb. However, realization hit him and he shot the wizard and cold, death like glare.

"You fucking bastard!" Ayden yelled, fangs and claws growing and a loud growl rumbled in his throat.

"You brought this on yoursel-" Kamek started to argue but his eyes widened as Ayden lunged him with speed he hadn't realized he had. Quickly, he disappeared and Ayden landed on his feet, skidding to a halt and looking around wildly.

"No I didn't!" he yelled, "you stupid moron! Why couldn't you and that retard of a master just leave her alone! Leave me alone! Leave us all alone! We don't want to be used as tools!"

"Awe, but where's the fun in that!" Kamek's voice called from above and Ayden looked up, spotting the magikoopa on the ledge of an building. Quickly, he had his claws dug into the side of the building and was climbing up towards him.

Kamek jumped off the ledge, running towards the other side. He turned around to see Ayden pull himself onto the roof, breaking bits of concrete as he yanked his claws out of it.

"Now you're going to pay for making her hate me!" the clone yelled, darting towards Kamek who smiled. "I'm sorry. As fun as that sounds I must be going" he said before disappearing and Ayden came to a halt just before the ledge. Taking in deep breaths, he clenched his teeth and hands.

He shouted. A loud and long, pain filled scream as he shut his hatred filled eyes tightly.

He was crying, his sobs louder than he wanted them to be. He dropped to his knees, burring his face into the ledge. He dug his claws into the concrete, not caring if he broke one or not.

Slowly, he lifted his head, eyes red and cheeks wet with tears. "Damn you, Bowser!" he called loudly, not caring of anyone heard, "you will pay for taking her from me! I swear it!"

_End Flashback_

Ayden jerked out of his thoughts then. He'd found a more peaceful spot to rest in a tree outside of the town. There were no tears here. They were long gone now.

He wondered, hadn't she seen that day? His eyes, they hadn't been the same. Couldn't she tell there was something wrong? He knew she'd studied his expression that day, seeking some kind of answer. There was no way she could of missed that blank look in his eyes. That cold, unfeeling stare that wasn't his. They may have been on his face, the color of his, but they hadn't been his eyes.

He sighed. "Too many unanswerable questions..." he muttered, looking up at the sky. It seemed to be clouding again, possibly going to snow... Again. "Stupid weather..." he muttered, annoyed.


End file.
